Trio held for running fake call centre

A trio, which includes a woman, was arrested from Rohini on Tuesday for running a fake call centre. They have so far duped more than 500 people of Rs 50 lakh on the pretext of promising them high returns simply by joining a bulk text messaging scheme in south Delhi.

Chhaya Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south) said Rashid Ahmed, 30, Balwant, 21, and Rakhi, 21, were apprehended following investigations into a complaint.

“Presenting themselves as employees of a share market company, the gang used to publish advertisements in newspapers, claiming yields as high as Rs 45,000 by forwarding just 100 text messages on a daily basis,” Sharma said.

The police said that the complainant had alleged that he had seen an advertisement which promised Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 per month for issuing text messages. When the complainant contacted them, a woman asked him to deposit Rs 5,000 in her account. “She remained in touch with the complainant for three to four days before switching off her phone. The man felt cheated and filed the complaint,” added Sharma.

Initial enquiry led the police to outer Delhi’s Sultanpuri where the trio stayed. They used to operate the fake call centre from near Rohini’s Jaipur Golden Hospital .

“During questioning, Ahmed admitted that the gang had started its operations in Rajasthan,” said Sharma. But their luck ran out and he was arrested by the Udaipur police in February 2011. Later, he decided to come to Delhi with a ‘fresh’ idea.